Lorraine Cox, Director of STAR Procurement and Chair of the National Social Value Taskforce.

About Lorraine and STAR Procurement 

Lorraine is the Director of STAR Procurement and the Chair of the National Social Value Taskforce.

Governed through a Joint Committee, STAR is the shared procurement service between Knowsley, Rochdale, St Helens, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford Councils, along with a number of other customers.

STAR provides a high-quality responsible procurement and consultancy service that delivers on tangible transformation and improvements. They continue to deliver on five core objectives; deliver commerciality; supporting communities; build collaboration; provide confidence; be courageous.

The National Social Value Taskforce was founded in 2016 to establish a good practice framework to integrate the Public Services (Social Value Act) 2012 into the UK public sector and business community.

It is an open network and welcomes any organisation that wishes to get involved and build collective knowledge on how to best support communities by working together through the effective implementation of the Act.

Listen in to find out…

In this episode, Sarah talks to Lorraine about the work of STAR Procurement and the role of the National Social Value Task Force. They discuss the role social value has within procurement and the power it gives businesses to make their bid stand out. 

Lorraine talks about the upcoming implementation of the new Procurement Act and whether that will mean any changes to the importance placed on social value, or the way it is delivered.

“Ultimately, this is about impact. And I think unless social value is truly delivering impact to our residents and our businesses within our regions, then actually, you've got to question why you're doing it.” – Lorraine Cox

Find out more….

Making Social Value a Key Element

Through STAR, the local authorities they work on behalf of consistently return a weighting of mainly 20% for social value across all procurement above £25,000. This works to ensure businesses and bidders are really offering added value throughout the procurement process.

The opportunity social value presents to business

Public sector organisations have a purpose-based role to deliver good for communities. Social value is the differentiator that offers businesses the opportunity to really demonstrate that their goals and values also align with the public purpose.

Demonstrate you:

• Are socially responsible and ethical

• Have good employment methods

• Are committed to net zero

The new Procurement Act

The new Procurement Act changes the way the winner will be determined in public sector procurement exercises from the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) to the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT). 

This widens the approach, making it less prescriptive, especially on price.  This should give the market the opportunity to be innovative and creative on how they're going to deliver the contract, as public sector organisations have the freedom to take other factors such as around social value and sustainability, into account.

Conclusion

Lorraine Cox talks about the importance a social value offering plays for businesses bidding on public sector tenders.  Demonstrating your business ethics and goals align with public purpose and the added value you can offer is key when securing a contract.

If you're a contracting authority or supplier seeking to improve your social value practices, Samtaler is here to help. With experienced professionals and a deep understanding of social value implementation, Samtaler offers tailored solutions to navigate complexities and maximise impact.

Take the first step towards sustainable and socially responsible procurement. Contact Samtaler today to benefit your organisation and contribute to a better society. To find out how we can help send an email to hello@samtaler.co.uk

Visit STAR Procurement

Visit the National Social Value Taskforce

Visit the University of Manchester article ‘Priceless Procurement: Valuing what matters most’

Sign up to The Social Value Files for inspiration and practical ideas to create social value for your business.

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